7 Hot Stocks on Traders' Radars

BALTIMORE ( Stockpickr) -- Put down the 10-K filings and the stock screeners. It's time to take a break from the traditional methods of generating investment ideas. Instead, let the crowd do it for you.

From hedge funds to individual investors, scores of market participants are turning to social media to figure out which stocks are worth watching. It's a concept that's known as "crowdsourcing," and it uses the masses to identify emerging trends in the market.

Crowdsourcing has long been a popular tool for the advertising industry, but it also makes a lot of sense as an investment tool. After all, the market is completely driven by the supply and demand, so it can be valuable to see what names are trending among the crowd.

While some fund managers are already trying to leverage social media resources like Twitter to find algorithmic trading opportunities, for most investors, crowdsourcing works best as a starting point for traders who want a starting point in their analysis. Today, we'll leverage the power of the crowd to take a look at seven of the highest-trending stock searches on Google.

With earnings season kicking into full gear this week, you can bet that earnings is a major driver of searches today. Here's a look at how these most-searched names are trading technically.

Texas Instruments

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Nearest Resistance: $33

Nearest Support: $31.50

Catalyst: Earnings

Semiconductor firm Texas Instruments ( TXN) comes up first on our list of most-searched stocks this week, coming off the heels of the firm's first quarter earnings call after the close yesterday. The company reported earnings of 22 cents per shares, besting Wall Street's expectations of 17 cents.

In spite of a relatively small percentage change from yesterday, TXN is actually making a fairly broad swing in this afternoon's session -- one with big technical implications.

Texas Instruments has been trading in a sideways channel for the better part of 2012, and today's earnings reaction is forcing a test of support at $31.50. So far, TXN is holding up above $31.50 -- a very good thing for shareholders of this stock; a breakdown below that support level would spur a short signal in TXN.

Even though support's holding and earnings were positive yesterday, I'd recommend sitting on the sidelines at least until shares can overcome resistance at the 50-day moving average. That level has acted as a sort of ceiling for shares in the past.

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Nearest Resistance: $90

Nearest Support: $70

Catalyst: Earnings Miss

Netflix ( NFLX) went from being one of Wall Street's favorite momentum stocks to being the name that everyone loves to hate -- and we're seeing more of that hate being doled out by investors today. Netflix is another earnings-driven stock today, getting search attention after posting a bigger than expected loss of 8 cents. Analysts had only been expecting the firm to shed 2.65 cents on average for the first quarter.

Today's massive 12.7% selloff has big technical implications for Netflix. First of all, it shoves the stock below support at $100, a price that acted as a sort of "floor" for shares earlier this month. Second, it wipes out any semblance of support nearby for NFLX. That means that continued freefall is the likeliest outcome of this breakdown.

Historic support at $70 may be the next place where NFLX catches a meaningful bid. The big gap in this stock means that trading it is best suited to investors who don't mind putting on a riskier bet in the last week of April.

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Lo and behold, we're seeing an almost identical setup in mid-cap instrument manufacturer Waters ( WAT) today. Like Netflix, earnings are driving this stock this afternoon, after it posted a miss on its first-quarter results before the opening bell this morning. While investors had been expecting the firm to earn $1.09, WAT only brought $1 per share to its bottom line in the last three months.

Waters spent most of 2012 forming a topping pattern with support at $87. Shares closed just under that price yesterday, indicating that demand was waning ahead of today's open. Today's massive breakdown sent shares well under their next meaningful support level at $82; now that price is resistance.

Shorts should consider aiming for a target at $72. That said, like Netflix, this is another higher-risk trade. Risk-averse traders need not apply.

Align Technology

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Meanwhile, orthodontic device maker Align Technology ( ALGN) is looking a lot more attractive right now. Shares of the $2.5 billion firm broke out above $29 resistance this morning on first quarter earnings results shoving their way to new 52-week highs in the process.

Making new highs is significant from an investor psychology standpoint because it means that everyone who has bought shares in the last year is sitting on gains. As a result, the "back to even" mentality is less of a concern than it would be for a name with a higher proportion of shareholders sitting on losses.

For late-to-the-game buyers though, I'd recommend sitting on the sidelines until ALGN pushes above today's high water mark.

Telecom Italia

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Nearest Resistance: $12

Nearest Support: $10.50

Catalyst: Italian Equity Rebound

Telecom Italia ( TI) is one of the biggest beneficiaries from a rebound in Italian stocks today, rallying around 4% as of this writing. And it's getting heavy search volume as a result.

Today's move is almost entirely technical. Shares broke above a very short-term double-bottom in shares, signaling an entry for daytraders after the glut of demand at $11 got taken out. While that level isn't strong enough to act as support right now, it's worth keeping in mind that it's likely to slow selling.

While there could be some upside in TI near-term, there are some more attractive setups forming in European stocks ( you can see five of them here).

Ameriprise Financial

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Ameriprise Financial ( AMP) is getting attention after an earnings beat after the bell last night; the firm announced EPS of 1.45, beating Wall Street's estimates of 1.39. But there's a reason why shares aren't really reacting to the news: even though the fundamentals were a positive surprise, technical factors are holding back shares of this financial services giant.

Shares of AMP have been looking "toppy" for the last two months, as shares carved out a head and shoulders top. The head and shoulders is one of the most popular technical patterns out there, one that indicates exhaustion among buyers.

Now, with AMP nearing a breakdown below its neckline level, there could be additional downside in shares. I'd suggest shorts hold on the sidelines until a break below $52.

Brinker International

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Nearest Resistance: N/A

Nearest Support: $29

Catalyst: Positive Earnings

Last up on our list of most-searched stocks today is restaurant operator Brinker International ( EAT), yet another stock that's getting attention after posting earnings. Brinker earned 60 cents per share for its fiscal third quarter, besting analyst estimates of 56 cents, and posting double-digit growth over last year's bottom-line results.

Now shares are moving higher for a second straight day.

The news in Brinker is spurring shares to a new 52-week high in today's session, a move that has bullish implications for the restaurant stock. For late-to-the-game traders, though, it makes sense to sit on the sidelines and let Brinker work out its supply and demand levels at these new highs. The breakout above $29 yesterday was a buy signal, but with shares already up close to double-digits, I'd recommend waiting for shares to catch some support before putting money into this name.

At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned.

Jonas Elmerraji is the editor and portfolio manager of the Rhino Stock Report, a free investment advisory that returned 15% in 2008. He is a contributor to numerous financial outlets, including Forbes and Investopedia, and has been featured in Investor's Business Daily, in Consumer's Digest and on MSNBC.com.